The Dark Days Past
by Its-Deleted-Will-Not-Be-Revive
Summary: Annabeth Chase has lived in the fear of her stepmother and brother who torture her every night. One night, she decides she has enough and runs away. Exhausted and armed with some meagre supplies, she seeks refuge in the home of a certain kind black haired boy. She is quite content, until the shadows of the past return again... Percabeth. Rated T.
1. Prologue

**So as promised, here's my new story. I love this idea but really, this type of a story is new to me so, I have one request from you guys, please please PLEASE review and tell me how this story will turn out. Happy reading!**

 **P.S. This is the prologue, so I made it third person's POV, but tell me, should the rest of the story be in third person or first person?**

 **Prologue**

Annabeth was afraid. Very afraid. She felt sure that he was behind her, so she didn't turn back and look – she just kept running.

She had had enough from Max, her stepmother's brother. He came to her house every night, drunk and violent. He hit Annabeth, punched her, kicked her and basically tortured her. Her stepmother didn't utter a word of protest. In fact she cackled, like she was enjoying the sight of Annabeth being tortured. She cried for help. But who could hear her? Her dear little stepbrothers were fast asleep. Her father had died a year ago, leaving her alone with her cursed stepmother and her evil brother. When her father was alive, Stephanie was all sweetness and sugar. When he died of a car accident, she showed a hint of remorse on the funeral day and then, she turned into a monster. In fact, Annabeth had a suspicion that Stephanie had a hand in her father's supposed accident. She was so cruel, that her own sons, Bobby and Mathew were afraid of her. Her brother was even worse, he was determined to make Annabeth's life hell.

She stayed away from the house as much as she could, but eventually, she had to come back home at night. Tonight, Max had gone too far – she insulted him by calling him a bastard, asshole and many other profanities at him – he stabbed her at the shin with a small dagger. She screamed from agony, but he mercilessly punched her and kicked her. Then, Annabeth felt a charge of adrenalin coursing through her body. She was a judo champion, which was very useful right then. Max was an average man in his twenties, so Annabeth had no problem in grabbing his wrist, flipping him so that he slammed the hard wood floor of the living room. She gave several punches to him, screaming in defiance. Then she pressed a carotid artery in his neck to cause a temporary pass out. She knew that it would not last long, but at least she would have time to grab her emergency backpack below her bed in her room and run out of the house.

She heard a surprised groan from the corner and she realized – she had forgotten about her stepmother. But she felt that, if she could deal with Max with such ease, her physically weak, and unarmed stepmother should be a cakewalk. She took a step forward and felt a searing pain in her left shin, where the beast had stabbed her. She bent down, steeled her nerves and pulled out the dagger and experienced a pain like she had never felt. She was wearing knee-length pants, so she did not have to worry about removing clothing. Blood gushed out, red and rich. She let it. She marched towards Stephanie who was cowering in a corner. Annabeth put all her strength, which was powered by one year of resentment, anger, fear and helplessness, in one fist and punched her. She was knocked out cold.

Annabeth figured she didn't have much time. She ran to her room, ignoring the pain in her left leg, fished out her emergency pack, got a bandage and hastily wrapped it around her leg wound and ran out of the house. She could hear Max shouting. She felt sure that he would be behind her in a matter of minutes.

Annabeth took the most twisted route possible, New York had many alleys and crosses, thank gods.

Now she felt as if she may be losing Max, but she had to find a refuge soon, otherwise, she wouldn't be able to run anymore. She was in the suburbs of Manhattan now. She could see rows of houses, all glowing in the night. She heard Max shout behind her. She was dead tired. She ran to a house, wishing that she could seek shelter there.

She banged on the door and now, she was spent fully, so she collapsed on the doorstep.

A tall figure, probably a boy asked, "Who are you? Oh my god! You're hurt." He bent down and through her blurry vision she made out that he had black hair.

"Please…help…stepmother's brother….stabbed me….following me….please….." And then Annabeth's vision went black.

 **So, what d'you think of it? And yes, I know, I know. I'd told that I'd post it the day I posted Chapter 4 of Love me like you do. But I had to make a few changes in it, so it came out late. Hope you like it and – review, please. ~Aisha**


	2. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

 **Hi guys. This is Aisha here. *Dodges things thrown at her*. I'm sorry for not updating for so long. But I have many valid reasons for it.**

 **For one thing my computer crashed. But I have a tab. So I could've typed on that. But listen further. I'm my grade's Cultural Captain (there are 3 divisions in Grade 8). I had to organize the cultural fair of 2015-16 of High School (in India Grade 8-10 is High school) along with the other two Captains. It's a HUGE event. If ONE thing goes wrong, we're done for. Though I had help from assistants, it still took a long time. Then, on top of that I had my quarterly test. So I had to study, train the orators for Welcome Speech, Vote of Thanks, etc. for the fair AND be in the Cultural Committee. Oh also, I had my badminton tournament and I'm Captain. So you see, I've really not slept properly this month. I swear on myself and my Percy Jackson books that I'm not lying. You might think, isn't that a little too much for one girl? But yeah, being 'popular' in my school is being a super-active extrovert. But I enjoyed every (well, almost every) moment this month. Now the fair and tournament are finally over and my tests are going on. I'll be getting my Christmas-New Year holidays from 23** **rd** **. I'll make it up for you then,**

 **Super-tired. ~ Aisha**


	3. Stranger

**Hello! I'm back! I know it's been a long LONG time since I've updated this story, but I'm continuing it now!**

 **Answers to reviews:**

 **devoided11 – Thank you! Sorry I made you wait so long.**

 **Princess Ali of The Fandoms – Sorry for the long wait!**

 **Penny Lu – Thanks!**

 **AthenaMonaLisa – 1) Thanks!  
2) I know right? Thank you for your concern! And it didn't sound formal. :) **

**Son of Tyche – Thank you and sorry for the long wait!**

 **DannyPac – Glad you liked it. Sorry I didn't update soon!**

 **FadingSunlight – I get what you mean. I think I'll stick to first person. I find it easier to write. Hmm… Bobby and Matthew are not exactly ill-treated, as Stephanie is their real mother and I have other plans for them. They're just afraid of her. But thanks for the suggestion! And I hope it'll turn out to be a good fic!**

 **Guest – Haha, yeah right. Anyway, sorry for the long wait!**

 **Myah Castel – No, both Percy and Annabeth are eighteen. Glad you liked it!**

 **And finally….. the story**

* * *

 **Chapter – 1**

 **Stranger**

 **Percy**

I had just finished doing the dishes when I heard a bang on the door. I immediately stiffened and went up to the window flanking the door. I saw a feminine figure with blonde hair collapsing on the doorstep. She was obviously exhausted and in pain.

I rushed to open the door. I studied her quickly. She indeed had honey blonde hair with stormy grey eyes and face contorted with pain. "Who are you?" I asked her. Then noticing that her leg was hurt, "Oh my god, you're hurt!

I bent down to examine her leg. She brought her unfocussed gaze up to me and rasped, "Please... help… stepmother's brother… stabbed me… following me… please…"

I made little sense of what she was saying but I understood that she was in trouble. I tries to reassure her that she was safe now, it was alright, but she was out cold.

I picked the girl up in a swift motion and gently placed her on the recliner in the living room.

* * *

"Thalia! Mom! Come here quickly! We have an emergency!"

My cousin, Thalia and my mom came rushing down the stairs from their room. They had looks of concern upon their faces.

Thalia spoke, "What happened, Perce? Does it have anything to do with the bang I heard on the door? I thought that was you! Who is it?"

"It's a girl, Thalia. She's pretty badly hurt. She said that someone stabbed her in the leg, and someone was following her. She was so exhausted that she was out cold on the doorstep. She was in such a pitiful state that I took her in without a second thought."

Their expression turned to that of compassion and sympathy. My mom brought out her medical kit. She was trained in first aid, so she bustled over to the living room where the girl lay on the recliner. Her face was showing the pain she felt, even in her state of unconsciousness. A wave of sympathy and pity rocked my. Besides the wound on her leg, there were bruises on her arm and face, black and blue. She must have gone through something terrifying.

Who was she? She wasn't poor, that much was evident from her clothes and the backpack she held when she fell at our doorstep. The backpack…. That might hold some answers. It was still lying on the threshold. I made my way there, to discover that Thalia was already rummaging through it.

"I found this," she said, when she noticed me. "I think there might be some ID, or Credit Card or something, with her name on it."

I smiled, I and my cousin really were similar. She had come to stay before she went off to NYU with me two weeks later.

"Aha!" Thalia cried in triumph after digging through the bag for a while.

"What is it?"

She held out a wallet for me to see. Inside it was a driving licence, some money and a credit card with the name 'Annabeth Chase'.

"Annabeth Chase," I repeated. The name was vaguely familiar. I had heard it somewhere in college, in the last semester.

"Of course! Annabeth Chase!" I shouted, making Thalia jump.

"What? You know her?"

"Yeah, she was topping our English Class. So she goes to NYU then. Hmm… interesting."

"What's interesting?" My mom asked, coming from the living room. She must have finished with Annabeth.

"Mom, the girl goes to the same university as me and Thalia! Her name's Annabeth. I remember her from my English class."

"Oh, alright. Percy, the girl, Annabeth is very seriously injured. The wound in her leg is deep and there are bruises all over her body. I have done what I can. It will suffice for the night but we need to call a doctor in the morning. She might not gain consciousness for a couple of days."

"Don't worry Mom, I'll call the Doc in the morning. Now I've to find more about Annabeth Chase. C'mon Pinecone Face." I called Thalia by her beloved nickname earning me a sound blow on my head.

Annabeth Chase was the quiet girl who always sat at the back of the class, hidden away in a corner. She never spoke to anyone. She hid her face in her curtain of blonde hair and when asked a question would answer in short sentences and revert back to her original state of silence. Everyone had been amazed when their English teacher had announced that she was first to the class. But she hadn't even stayed long enough to accept her classmates' congratulations. She had gathered her things, and bolted out of the classroom. Annabeth Chase was a strange girl. She was such a stranger to me. Now I was intrigued. Who had beaten her up? Was it the reason why she was so silent and always hid her face – to hide her bruises?

I wanted to know who Annabeth Chase was.

* * *

"Hey Perce! What's up?" My best friend, Rachel Elizabeth Dare's voice greeted me over the phone.

"Hey Red. Umm, something strange has happened here. Has Thalia called you yet?"

"Umm, no. Why? What happened?"

I explained the whole situation to her, right up to the point where my cousin and I discovered that her name was Annabeth Chase.

"Whoa, whoa, wait. Her name is Annabeth Chase? _Chase_? As in my partner in Chemistry and classmate in English?"

"Yeah, pretty much. As I said she had a stab-wound on her leg and bruises all over her face and arms. I was wondering, since she was your lab partner, you might know something about her."

"Yeah, she drives a ratty truck, she has two younger step-brothers, she's raised by a step mother and she almost always had a bruise. When I asked her what happened, she would clam up, cover it up with some excuse or another – falling down the stairs, bumping into something. I was sure it was all bullshit. A person can't be so clumsy. And she _never_ dropped beakers or test tubes during chemistry, or bumped into anything. That's about it. She doesn't chatter much. It's usually me who does all the talking. Oh yeah, last thing. Once, not very long before Christmas break, she hadn't brought her truck, a man in his twenties came to pick her up. She looked terrified of him and refused to go with him. She begged me to drop her home. I was confused, but I could see the terror in her eyes, so I consented. She lives only five blocks away from you, Percy. I mean, your mom's home, not your apartment near NYU." Rachel finished her speech. I knew more about Annabeth than I had ever known during the semester.

"Wow, thanks for the info Rach. I know more about her than I ever did." I thought for a while and said, "Hey, can you get away from your parents for a few days and come over here, to my house? I think it'll make Annabeth more comfortable, knowing that you're here."

"Sure! Mom and Dad are going on a business trip to England. I don't want to go to parties with all those snobs and be tortured in tight dresses and high heels. And I know that they don't want me to come either. I'm sure they'll agree. It'll be a win-win situation." I smiled. I couldn't imagine the arty, freckly, fiery Rachel in a formal dress. Her parents, the Dares were owners of a huge New York company, but Rachel didn't give a shit. Thank gods she wasn't a snob.

"See ya tomorrow, bye!" I ended the call and sat on my bed, thinking.

Rachel had mentioned that Annabeth had been afraid of a man in his twenties. Annabeth had mentioned that someone was following her. She had said something – that he was her stepmother's brother. Was he the one she was afraid of, who gave her the wound?

* * *

Though Rachel had given me a lot of information on Annabeth, I still was curious about her. Rach told me that she was raised by her stepmother. What had happened to her father and mother? Had they died? Such questions passed through my mind.

I tried to find her on social media. I scoured all the accounts, but none of them were hers. Finally, on Facebook, I found her name _Annabeth Chase_ , _New York University._ I clicked on her account. Nothing was posted recently. The last post was a year ago, saying, "I miss you dad. Love you. Rest in peace," with a photo of Annabeth with her dad, who had the same blonde hair as her, but dark brown eyes.

I leaned back on my chair. So her dad was dead. A year ago. That explained her strange, lonely ways. At least partly. What about her mom? I didn't know. I just had to ask her.

I was tired after the night's events. I glanced at the clock on my table. It said 11:55. Time to call it a day.

Rubbing my eyes and yawning I plunged into my bed. I fell asleep almost immediately.

I was rudely awoken by a hand shaking my shoulder. Blearily I opened my eyes to look at who had woken me up. It was Thalia.

"What is it, Thalia? It's still 7:00!" I added looking at the clock. It was an unspoken rule that Thalia and I shouldn't be woken before 8:00 during the holidays. And Thalia was breaking it.

"I know. I woke you because Annabeth's awake."

* * *

 **Aaaand that's a wrap! Yay! I finished this chapter in two hours. Wow. Fast typing. You know what I want – read and review!**

 **Anyway some facts about this story:**

 **1) Percy, Annabeth, Thalia and Rachel (and a few others who aren't in the scene yet) are eighteen and attend NYU.**

 **2) Percy and Thalia live in an apartment near NYU, since Sally's home is far from NYU (according to the story).**

 **3) Annabeth's stepmom's name isn't mentioned in the books. So I've named her Stephanie. But she looks the same though (Asian, with red highlighted hair. Mentioned in The Titan's Curse). Max (her brother in this AU) looks almost the same.**

 **4) Bobby and Matthew are nine years old. According to this story.**

 **5) I mentioned that Annabeth had a credit card, driving licence and a truck. You might ask how that is possible if Stephanie is so abusive. Annabeth's dad died only a year before, so he had given Annabeth all this before dying.**

 **That's about it. If you have anything else to say to me or ask me, any suggestions for the story, then you can either put it in a review or PM me. Feel free to tell me anything you want!**

 **Anyway I promise I'll be updating soon, maybe within a couple of years or decades. Give or take a year. Haha just kidding. Let me rephrase. I promise I'll update within a couple of weeks.**

 **Meanwhile you can check out my other story: Love me like you do. It's a Percy Jackson – Harry Potter crossover. I hadn't updated that one too in quite a while, but I've added a new chapter recently, so yeah, go check that out too. Please R & R! (both stories) ~A**


	4. Glimmer

**First off, I know sorry doesn't cut it, because I've not updated in what seems like a million years, but I'll say it anyway – I'm** ** _SORRY_** **with all my heart, okay? Life was being an absolute bitch to me. Well, except my 14** **th** **b'day in April.**

 **Actually, school just started a couple of months ago. I** ** _did_** **have a few holidays before that, but laptop decided it was the perfect time to get attacked by a stupid virus. Hmph.**

 **Anyway, I'll not make myself sound pathetic with other excuses, so let's get on with it, aye?**

 **DannyPac – Usually I would respond with a cheeky comment like** ** _Oh, all is fair in love and writing_** **or something like that, but seriously, since I've kept you on the cliffhanger for more than a few months… sorry.**

 **Guest – Yes, I really want to, but you saw what happened… so, SORRY!**

 **Wiseowl – Thank you! Your review makes me feel guilty for not updating, because a) Percy's POV was not so clear, b) its not every day I get compliments for a good job! (because let's face it, I'm a complete klutz) To answer your kind-of-question, Annabeth is kinda an introvert, so nobody really pays attention to her. To people like Percy, she's the kind of person he would recognize only on a second glance.**

 **So, thanks for the follows, faves and reviews. Please keep up the same!**

* * *

 **Chapter – 2  
Glimmer  
Annabeth**

The first thing I registered when I regained consciousness was the photo of a women with a vaguely familiar teenager, with black hair and sea-green eyes on the table beside the bed I was lying on. I ignored it, as if it was pretty normal for me to wake up next to a stranger's picture.

 _Wait. What?!_

My hair whipped across my face as I sat bolt upright. I was on a recliner, not a bed, I realized. I also realized, quite painfully, that my left leg and many other parts of my body had a dull throbbing ache. Wincing, I shifted gingerly and inspected my surroundings.

I was in a nice, cozy living room, which I did _not_ associate with Stephanie's house (I never called it mine, because I never _felt_ like it was mine). Besides the dark blue recliner I was resting on, there was more furniture, which were mismatched, but somehow melded together. There was a low ottoman by the old fireside and a matching sofa with Victorian designs. A large L-shaped sofa was opposite to the recliner, facing a huge TV. Almost all the walls were covered with pictures, most of them having the same boy and woman, whom I assumed to be the boy's mother.

What I didn't understand was why the boy looked so _familiar_.

I stared hard at the picture on my right. Hmm, I think he went to NYU, and I shared one of my classes with him. Suddenly, it clicked. _Percy Jackson_. Captain of the swim team. Topper in Oceanography. He was in my English class.

Another question invaded my mind: What was _I_ doing here?

I didn't have to think hard. The memories of the previous night came flooding back to me. I saw Max, judo-flipping him (a little grin there), running away, the dark-haired boy who opened the door and I remembered blacking out.

Oh, wow, who knew I would end up in Jackson's house?

My reverie was interrupted by the sound of someone calling my name.

"Annabeth? You're awake!" The voice of a girl (probably my age, I deduced) called out. I whipped my head to see who it was, wincing as I felt a pain shoot through my neck.

The girl must've caught it, because she said, "Whoa, easy there, you have a lot of bruises."

 _No shit, Sherlock._ I thought bitterly, rubbing my neck. I looked at the girl. She was wearing sleeping shorts with a skull on the pocket, a tank with another skull, except that, it had Barbie's hair and the top proclaimed – _Death to Barbie_. She had a spiky pixie cut for her black hair and had lots of freckles on her face. Her eyes were an electric blue, like merely looking at them could fry you to ashes.

Oh, I knew who she was. She was pretty much unforgettable. Thalia Grace. Cousin to Jackson.

I managed a weak smile. "Hi," I mumbled.

"Hello, Annabeth," she said, giving a brilliant grin of her own.

"You know me?" I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion.

"Yeah, I may, or may not have looked through your wallet," She shrugged, as if it was no big deal. "Sorry."

I simply stared at her. "It's okay," I managed to choke out, in my shock. Thalia just shrugged again and said, "We didn't expect you to gain consciousness so soon. Anyway, stay here, I'll call Sally and ask her what to do next."

 _Sally_? Who was she? Probably the woman in the photo.

"Hello, sweetie," a voice said, a few minutes later. It was the woman from the photo. She had long, chocolate brown hair and multi-coloured eyes. She had a kind, _you-can-trust-me_ expression, which seemed to soothe my frayed nerves.

"'Lo," I mumbled.

"I'm Sally Jackson. Percy's mom. You know him, right, hon?" I nodded. "Good, good. You gave him quite the shock when you appeared in front of the door. Anyway, let's look at what's happened to this."

Mrs. Jackson checked on my leg wound, keeping up a steady stream of chatter all the time. She didn't ask, even once, what had caused the wound, which made me greatly relieved because I was not ready to tell my pathetic story again. I also did not want their pity and charity.

She finally finished and said, "Doctor Simpson will be over in a few minutes. I know you're out of danger now, but I'll have him examine the wound, and maybe give a shot of TT. Don't want to run risks, now, do we?" she said, mostly to herself. The concern and kindness in her voice made my eyes well up with tears. Nobody had ever done anything like this for me, in the last year.

"Th-thanks, Mrs. Jackson," I told her sincerely. She smiled up at me, her beautiful face lighting up. "Oh, honey, it was no problem. And it is Sally," she said, the last part in a mock-stern tone, which made me smile.

"Now, how about you lie down for a while, till Doc comes? I'll whip up something to eat. Oh, and if Thalia comes by, ask her to wake up Percy. I'm sure he'd like to speak to you, now that you're awake." Sally said, bustling out of the room, into a room I assumed to be the kitchen.

"No need, Mom. I'm awake." Percy yawned as he entered the living room.

Sally put her hands on her hips. "Well, well, well, _someone's_ up early!" She smirked, her eyes glinting mischievously.

"Mom, don't push it. It's a one day thing," Percy grumbled, and even I couldn't hide a smile at his disgruntled tone.

"Alright. Now, don't be rude, speak to our guest." She said, gesturing at me.

Percy's beautiful sea-green eyes landed on me, where I was sitting awkwardly on the recliner. He gave a small smile, which I reciprocated. He came and sat down next to me.

"Not really a morning person, I see." I surprised myself by speaking first.

His smile grew wider. "Nah, usually I stay in bed till the sun's high up in the sky. That is, during break."

"Or you sleep in class?" I enquired, teasing him. Once, when he was sitting across from me, he had fallen asleep, right in the middle of reading _Wuthering Heights_. When it was his turn to answer a question, I had wadded up a paper and thrown it at him, to wake him up. Fortunately he woke up, and prevented himself from becoming the laughing stock of class. It was the only time I'd ever interacted with him.

Percy blushed. I'm sure he remembered it. I stifled a laugh as I remembered it.

 _God, Chase, what's wrong with you? What happened to the shy introvert?_

I stopped myself from laughing and said, "Anyway, thanks, for you know, saving me."

His expression softened. "It really wasn't a problem, Annabeth." He looked hesitant, as if he was contemplating whether to say his next thought or not. I realized what it was and silently begged him not to. I was not ready. No. I was not ready.

Fortunately, Percy seemed to take the hint and let it drop. Instead he told me a random joke in an attempt to cheer me up and we were soon laughing like old friends.

I couldn't help but think how nice it would be if I was in the same position without a wounded leg, bruises and a broken soul.

* * *

 **Phew! I typed this all in an hour! Talk about fast. Anywaaay, Rachel is gonna be there in the next chapter. Just a piece of random info. Anyway, I was thinking of starting something – it's called Preview for a Review. It's really simple. If you're a user, and leave a review for my story, I will give you a preview of the next chapter in your PM inbox. I'm really sorry if I can't leave one for the guests, but tell you what, send your email address to mine – phoenixignis345 , and you'll get your preview. Put the subject as Preview for a Review. I promise I'll do this.**

 **Also, feel free to PM me about anything! I'm getting rather lonely here. ~ A**


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